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Glite Dictionary
Peloponnesian War

Peloponnesian War

1 8.2
A long war between Athens and Sparta that ended with Athens' defeat
  • noun
  • /ˌpɛləpəˈniːʒən wɔr/
translation icon : Guerra del Peloponeso
  • In his work, The History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides described the underlying cause of war between Athens and Sparta in succinct terms: "What made war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta" (1985, 23).
  • Athens during the Peloponnesian War
  • Thucydides' Peloponnesian War
  • year of the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides, the guy who wrote the history of the the Peloponnesian War dies, leaving this account behind.

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Examples

  • The Peloponnesian War was fought over nearly three decades, ultimately leading to the fall of Athens.

  • The second was imposed by the Spartans, and after they won the Peloponnesian War, that one lasted less than a year.

  • Near the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War, the people of Athens conducted a funeral to honor those fellow citizens who had fallen in battle.

    Academic text (2004)

  • Socrates was a soldier in the Athenian army during the Peloponnesian War, as he tells us in The Apology.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Is there room for open and free discussion when a state (such as Athens during the Peloponnesian War) is imperiled?

    Academic text (1991)

  • Thucydides wrote his history of the Peloponnesian War, detailing the conflict between Athens and Sparta.

  • The Peloponnesian War resulted in significant changes in power dynamics in ancient Greece.

Surface Forms

Peloponnesian War singular
Peloponnesian Wars plural

Morphology

Peloponnesian + war

The phrase is transparently composed: 'Peloponnesian' (related to the Peloponnese) + 'war' yields a war involving that region. A B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer it refers to a war connected with the Peloponnese, though specific historical details (dates, belligerents) are not obtainable from the words alone.

Etymology

Peloponnesian War is named after the Peloponnese, the large southern part of Greece where Sparta and its allies lived. So the name points to the long war between Athens and the states from that region, led by 'Sparta'.